Category: Inter-faith

‘Crossing Borders’ Opens at the Jewish Museum – NYTimes.com. Some defer to others: they are commenting on sacred texts. Some supplant others: sacred texts of one faith argue against those of another. But, as presented here, many also engage in unexpected dialogues, emulations, even dissections. Scripts imitate one another, even if they are in different languages; images and designs recur in manuscripts from different conceptual worlds. Some texts remain unflustered while everything changes around them. And all of this takes place among just 52 works, some of which are astonishingly ancient, many of which are beautifully illuminated, and most of…

Awesome! He’s not a Muslim, so there should be no problem with his figurative drawing. THE DAILY STAR :: Culture :: Lifestyle :: American pens Quran against Islamophobia. Everitte Barbee is a U.S. citizen who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s also a calligraphy artist. About a year and a half ago, the 24-year-old commenced work on a unique project: The Quran for Solidarity is, as far as Barbee is aware, the first Quran to be completely handwritten by a non-Muslim. He also believes it may be the first edition of the book entirely written in figurative calligraphy.

So, what did the Muslims do for the Jews? | The Jewish Chronicle. Islam saved Jewry. This is an unpopular, discomforting claim in the modern world. But it is a historical truth. The argument for it is double. First, in 570 CE, when the Prophet Mohammad was born, the Jews and Judaism were on the way to oblivion. And second, the coming of Islam saved them, providing a new context in which they not only survived, but flourished, laying foundations for subsequent Jewish cultural prosperity – also in Christendom – through the medieval period into the modern world.

There is an interesting thesis here and some suggestive evidence. Will have to look up some of the articles referenced. Was Columbus secretly a Jew? – CNN.com. Recently, a number of Spanish scholars, such as Jose Erugo, Celso Garcia de la Riega, Otero Sanchez and Nicholas Dias Perez, have concluded that Columbus was a Marrano, whose survival depended upon the suppression of all evidence of his Jewish background in face of the brutal, systematic ethnic cleansing.

Brad Hirschfield: My Neighbor’s Faith: The Rabbi And The Christian Cab Driver. I could feel how torn he was. His most important teacher had told him that he had a choice to make. He felt pulled in different directions by the two things that mattered most in his life: his wife and his faith. Nobody had told him that his wife could be completely with him on his journey even if they were never going to be in complete agreement. My teacher in Hebron, for whom any difference was an excuse for disconnection, expressed the same mind-set. Either the cause…

Our Journey Towards Excellence. On that day, two blessed leaders, Imam W. D. Mohammed (religious and spiritual leader of the largest constituency of Muslims in America), and Chiara Lubich (president and spiritual leader of the Focolare Movement worldwide), held a joint meeting at the Mosque to formalize a “pact” illustrating their commitment to work together to promote unity. This collaboration was not only between their own communities, but also with people of faith from all religions, based on common principles and values.

Very excited to see this project launch on May 17. RavelUnravel. RavelUnravel, an exploration of the tapestry of religious and spiritual identities that make up our community and world. Watch video interviews with people of diverse faiths, beliefs and cultures talk about their identity and experiences and upload your own to add to the movement.